A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

Chapter 747 You Never Loved Me - II

As Ansel's emotions settled, he gazed at the distorted scene before him, the result of his recent loss of control. Exhaling softly, he murmured, "I should restore this place first, otherwise Seri would—"

His words suddenly halted.

Even without a knock, Ansel sensed someone at the study door.

That person who had lost the chance of salvation, forsaken countless beautiful possibilities, willingly fallen into an bottomless abyss... yet possessed a talent Ansel could never abandon.

"Come in," Ansel said, not waiting for her to knock.

The door - the only undamaged object in the study besides Ansel's chair - slowly opened. The girl in the wheelchair propelled herself forward using shadows, but paused momentarily upon seeing the room's state.

The ceiling, floor, and walls were forcibly twisted together. The once square room had become a spiral corridor. Bookshelves, furniture, potted plants, ornaments, windows... everything was melded into this spiral, stretching and rotating against the walls. It resembled the delirious ramblings of a mad yet renowned artist on canvas - a distorted spiral hell.

The youth with eyes as deep as the abyss sat at the room's furthest point, as if seated at the end of hell itself.

"You're in a bad mood, Mr. Ansel."

"Did you come just to discuss this?" Ansel leaned back in his chair, his expression impassive, fingers interlaced. The distorted scenery began rapidly restoring itself as if time were reversing. "I don't have time to discuss my mood with you, Nine."

Nine, seated in her wheelchair, tilted her head slightly. No longer wearing a mask before Ansel, she smiled, her now more mature and bewitching features captivating.

"But, Mr. Ansel, you could have restored everything before letting me in, couldn't you?"

Ansel's fingertips trembled imperceptibly.

"What are you trying to say?" He gazed into those pitch-black eyes that could never return to their original color, as if staring into the abyss he had long grown accustomed to.

Nine's wheelchair continued to advance, propelled by shadows... She used to be a person with a keen sense of propriety and distance, always aware of where she should position herself. But now, she showed no signs of stopping, continuously approaching Ansel.

"You know what I want to say, just as I know what you want me to do, Mr. Ansel."

Nine spoke these perplexing words, her slightly husky voice carrying an indescribable charm once one grew accustomed to it.

The room was almost fully restored. Ansel's desk was reforming from the twisted walls like a clay toy being stretched and molded. But before it could fully materialize, Nine had already reached its original position, forcing Ansel to temporarily halt his actions.

Until Nine stopped right in front of him.

— She had never before approached Ansel this closely of her own accord.

"You want me to know that you're in a bad mood."

She would never... have said such things before.

Ansel looked at Nine, now so close their knees almost touched. They were near enough to reach out and touch each other's faces.

After a moment of contemplation, the young Hydral suddenly chuckled.

"Why would I want you to know that I'm in a bad mood?"

Despite maintaining an intimate proximity, Nine conducted herself with utmost propriety. Her hands rested gracefully on her lap, her demeanor impeccable. Were it not for the eerie black markings on her left cheek, she would be the epitome of a perfect lady, one in a million.

This ebony-clad lady, faced with Ansel's seemingly mocking inquiry, responded with profound solemnity: "Because you require assistance."

"I was under the impression our previous conversation had reached a conclusion."

"No, Mr. Ansel. Our dialogue was interrupted by Miss Seraphina's intrusion last time."

Nine, her hands still neatly folded, spoke softly: "As I mentioned, I have much more to discuss with you."

With Ansel's impeccable memory, he swiftly recalled that day's conversation. He rested his chin on his hand, observing Nine as she sat before him: "So when you said 'later,' you meant after all these days?"

Nine lowered her gaze slightly at these words, her expression seeming to convey shame for her tardiness. However, as Ansel watched her, the smile on his face gradually faded.

Ansel could see clearly that it wasn't shame, but a mixture of anguish and sorrow.

...Mirroring his own emotions.

He doubted that Nine, who could read his thoughts so well, this utterly transformed Nine, would display such an expression over a mere jest.

"I apologize profusely, Mr. Ansel."

Nine raised her head to meet Ansel's gaze. The anguish and sorrow shattered in her pitch-black eyes, coalescing into a resolute determination.

"I could have broached these matters with you earlier. I could have spared you from greater harm, yet I refrained from doing so."

"For it is only at this moment, only when your unspoken anguish reaches its zenith, that you would be willing... to heed my words."

"...You're spouting nonsense about non-existent things again, Nine."

Ansel's expression remained unperturbed: "I'm merely facing a dilemma that requires prioritization, not some life-altering decision." Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

He couldn't fathom how Nine could discern such profound depths of his psyche, matters that even Seraphina and Ravenna had failed to perceive. What gave Nine the right to—

"But you know better than anyone that the issue isn't about choosing between saving civilians or reclaiming Evora, isn't that right?"

Nine gazed intently into Ansel's slightly constricting sea-blue eyes, the resolve in her own orbs melting irrepressibly into that vivid, loathsome... sorrow.

She extended her hand towards Ansel's face, her delicate fingertips trembling subtly:

"You're trapped, Mr. Ansel."

"What you need isn't to make a choice. What you need is... liberation."

Ansel grasped Nine's wrist, her fingertips mere millimeters from his visage.

A darkness deeper than Nine's own swirled in Hydral's eyes as he gripped her wrist tightly, enunciating each word: "You should leave now. We both have crucial matters to attend to, Nine."

"Yes, right now, Mr. Ansel," Nine replied without hesitation.

"This is more important than my life, my soul, my everything—and the same holds true for you."

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